Hot stick



March 31, 1953 E. D. CURREY uo'r .STICK I 2 sHEETs-SHEET 1 Filed Oct. 9, 1950 ISnnentor 5/13 D. Cu/"re y Gltorneg Patented Mar. 31, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT F FICE HOT STICK EJ115431) CurncypPhoenix; Ariza Application October 9, 1950; Serial Nmsamo This'invention'concerns hot sticks, used towork 1o rrrand about'energized high, tensiontransmission mes;

v Heretofore; rubbergloves-ihavebeen used by linemen up" to the limit'of'their protection However," many lines now exceed the safe voltages for these, and various devicesv have been improvised for -attachingthe" lines" to insulators, replacing brokeninsulators and the line. Oneozf the'most important functions: of hot stick'is' to secure an energized line wire-to an insulator Icy-means of: a tie'wi'reand toremove tie-wires rrominsu1atorsso that the linewire may be removed.

One of the objects of my invention is t'o-provide ahotstick which may be easily handled and will hb1d3p0siti0narid twist" a tie wire on a line wire to hold". iton an insulator, and" will untwist the wire and remove it when desired;

Another objectii's to providea hot stick having arrotary twisting element-which may be applied tc'a' line wire and will thenengage a'tie wire and wrap'or twist it around the line"wire, so asto secure it tothe insulator. quickly, accurately and with a minimum of effort on the part of the user;

Still another object is to provide a' hot 'stick which may be-xapplie'd to an energized line wire and locked'in place so the'wiremay-be-safely moved or lifted from theinsulator and held while a new insulator is installed.

Other objects wil1 appear hereinafter.

v I attain the foregoing objectsby meanstof'the combination ofthe-pecu-li'arly and specially formed devices and combination of parts'illust'ra-ted in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fi'gurer- 1. is a perspective view of thehot stick as it" isvusedin applying a tie wire toalinewire' resting:-inian'insulator';

Figure 2oi's asideview of the ,h'ead'mechanism of "the; hotstick drawn onran enlarged scale;

Figure 3'is an edgeview thereof Ei'gureA is a sectional view oftherotary'twistin'g portion of the mechanism drawn on a some what reduced scale;

Figure 5 is: a perspective view of'a fragment of the; outer portion of the, twisting mechanism showingthe means of holding a tie wire;

Figure 6 is a plan view of an insulatorcarryingva line wire held inplace bya twisted tiewire;

Figure '7 is a perspective viewof thehead mechanism applied 'to a'line wire andrbrou-ght into engagement with .the tie wire; and

' Figure-8 is a similar-perspective view of showing. the head upon the completion of-a twist on one side of: an insulator.

1 Similar numerals: refer! to similar parts in 1 the several views.

The hot stick'consists ingeneral'of a -wooden pole or handle 2, which isdri'ed and coated with shellac to insure insulating qualities; 9; h'eadir3 which includes twisting mechanism 4', an operat= ing chain 5, a rope 6, joining the lower endsoi the chain and apulley I, supported in take up tightening mechanism 8', near the bottom of "the pole. These parts-are illustrated inFigure 1 where a break is shown in the pole and rope to indicate that these" parts may beof any desired lengths;

At the upper end ofthe'pole' there isthe-head 3 which is'attached' by ferrule l2; This, inturn, supportsplate l4, which has-a [Ll-shaped bend I lat the top to enclose idler sprocket l6 which is journalled on shaft- [8. Below this and 'at the lower or right hand edge of plate [4, asview'ed'in Figure 2, rotary-twisting mechanism 4 sup ported on a split "hollow shaft 20 which is welded to plate I4 at its inner end as shown by-numeral f5 in Figures. The split or longitudinal slot 22 in this shaft opens angularly downward and slightly outward as shown-in Figure 2'. The lower edge 23 of plate l ij'oins theinner-edge ofthis slot. The width of the slot is about one halfthe diameter of the shaft. An annular retaining ring 25 is formed on the inner end of shaft 20 and'is similarly slotted. Spindle 27 is- J'ourn'alledon shaft 20 and is retained by ring 25 at the outer end and by plate It at'its inner end. It has a longitudinal slot 28 of the same width as slot 22in shaft 20. A twisting sprocket 3ll is welded to spin dle- 2'1'near' its'inner-endand is provided with slot 32; radially alined with spindle-slot28;

An' arcuate twistinghook- 34 iswelded' to the innertend of spindle 21 onaspacerhook 36; Two horns 31 and 38are:provi'dedsothattheihook will engage loops of a tie wirewhen rotated in either direction. Hock 34 is attached to the spin dle at a position opposite to itsslot 28.-

A' chain 5 is attachedat one end to one end of rope 6 by clevis 42-. It runs upward overidler sprocket IB and downward against twisting sprocket30. The teethon the inner portion of thislatter sprocket engage chain 5 on its'outer face. The end of the chain below sprocket 30 is then attached t the other end of rope 6 bya clevis 44, A hooklike stop 46 attached to plate It engages clevis which acts as a stopllug and limits upward motion of the end of the chain to whichitis attached... This stop is positioned so that, when-clevis 44 engages it the slot'32 in twistingsprocket 30 and the slot in spindle '2.l will be alined, or in register, with the slot 22 in shaftlzfl. The twisting mechanism may then .be.--saidi-to be open, and all slots will receive line-wire 50..

in loop 55.

Rope pulley I is supported in pulley block 49 which has a downwardly extending screw and may be drawn downward by thumb nut 48. This constitutes the tightening mechanism 8,

The principal use of this not stick is to rapidly and tightly twist tie wires such as 52, Figs. 6, 7 and 8, onto line wires 50 to secure the line wire to an insulator 54. Heretofore, this twisting has been done very slowly, one half turn at a time,by a hot stick to which was attached a compound hook known as a mechanical hand. With my device, end loop 55 of U shaped tie wire 52 is grasped in the slot 28 of shaft 20 and held by partial rotation of spindle 21 as shown in Figure 5. Notches 53 oppositely positioned in the adjacent edges of these slots aid in holding the tie wire. Rotation is counterclockwise and is produced by a downward pull on the lay B of rope 6 which connects clevis 44, as shown in Figure 1. Tie wire 52 is then lifted above and to the right of insulator 54 and the free end hooked over the line wire at the top of the insulator. The head 3 is then moved downward and under insulator 54 and upward around the far side of the insulator, as shown in Figure 1, in a path indicated by dotted line 59. This brings the tie wire over the top of the insulator and across the top of line wire 50 and under the line Wire so that the grasped portion 56a will lie in the left hand portion of the insulator groove 60. The head 3 is then further manipulated to bring the end of the tie wire adjacent its loop 56 under the line wire on the right side of the insulator. Loop 56 is then released and occupies the position shown in Figure 7. Loop 62 at the opposite end of tie wire 52* is then pushed under the line wire on the left side of insulator 54 and the horn 31 of book 34 engaged in loop 62 as shown in Figure 7. The twisting mechanism 4 is maintained at open position and is then placed over line wire 50. A downward pull on rope lay 58 will then rotate sprocket 30 and hook 34 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 8, or so that the left end of tie wire 52 is rotated and twisted clockwise around line wire 50 when the insulator is viewed along the line wire from the left side. The finished twist then appears as shown adjacent tie wire loop 62, Figure 6. A reversal of the direction of rotation of hook 34, by a pull on the lay 58a of rope 6, opposite 58, will release the hook from loop 62.

The head 3 is then positioned so that twisting mechanism 4 faces line wire 50 on the right side of insulator 54. The mechanism 4 is moved to open position and horn 31 of hook 34 engaged The slots 32, 28 and 22 being in register, are hooked over the line wire. A pull on rope lay 58 will now twist the end of tie wire 52 adjacent its loop 56 clockwise when viewed in a direction toward the insulator. The hook is again disengaged and the completed tie appears as in Figure 6.

The tie wire may be removed by a reversal of the last portion of the above operation. The

then removed in a similar manner.

When it is desired to lift the line wire 50 from the insulator the mechanism 4 is moved to open position and the slots in registering position hooked over the line wire. Rotation of sprocket 30 and spindle 2! one half turn effectively closes the slot 28 and the line wire cannot get away from the head 3. By using pole 2 as a lifting handle the line wire 58 may be raised from the insulator and swung to either side, as desired.

From the foregoing it will be seen that pole 2 constitutes an extended insulating handle by means of which energized or hot line wires may be handled or worked on by the mechanism composing head 3. This head is supported on a metal frame which includes the plate 14, the U shaped top H, and the attaching ferrule l2.

The twisting mechanism 4 operates on this frame. This mechanism rotates on the slotted shaft 20 as a stationary supporting part, and a rotating twisting element which includes the slotted spindle 2?, the slotted sprocket 30 on its inner end, adjacent plate M, and the double pronged hook 34 on its outer end. This rotating twisting element is given rotary motion by manually operated mechanism including the chain 5, the supporting or idler sprocket l6 and rope 6.

The whole device, therefore, consists of four main parts, the pole, as an extended means of support; the frame and its slotted shaft as the basis of a line engaging hook; the rotating twisting element; and the chain and rope as a means for rotating the twisting element from the lower end of the hook.

By placing the slotted rotating element so that it rotates around the slotted shaft means are provided for twisting or untwisting any loops or parts of wires which may be engaged by hook 34. The slots in the shaft and spindle when in register and open form a hook slot to receive line wire 50, which may be closed by a half turn rotation of the rotating element; and the edges of the slots may be used to grip and releasably hold tie wires, as shown particularly in Figure 5.

The use of the slots in the respective parts, as above explained, is possible only when chain 5 runs over the back or inside portion of sprocket 33. Obviously, the outer portion must be left open.

Many modifications and mechanical equivalents may suggest themselves to those familiar with the art. Therefore, I wish to be limited only by the claims.

I claim:

1. A hot stick for applying tie wires having attaching loops at each end to energized line wires held on insulators, comprising in combination, an insulated supporting pole adapted to beheld at the lower end thereof, a frame at the top end thereof, an idler sprocket journalled on a shaft at the top of said frame; twisting mechanism in the lower portion of said frame composed of a hollow shaft attached at its inner end to said frame extending parallel to said idler sprocket shaft having a longitudinal slot opening downward and angularly slightly outward, a sprocket mounted on a hollow spindle journalled on said shaft, both sprocket and spindle having a longitudinal slot adapted to register with said slot in said shaft so that a line wire may be introduced into said hollow shaft through said slots when in register, and a tie wire engaging hook attached to said spindle adjacent the outer end thereof, and opposite said slot, having projecting horns extending partially around said spindle, adapted to engage a tie wire loop when rotated in either direction;

and means for rotating said slotted sprocket from the lower end of said pole including a chain running over said idler sprocket and against the inner portion of said slotted sprocket, and attached at its lower ends to an insulating rope looped over a pulley near the lower end of said pole; and means for stop-ping the turning movement of said twisting sprocket with the slots in said sprocket and spindle in register with the slot in said shaft, including a clevis on said chain and a stop on said frame adapted to engage said clevis.

2. A hot stick for applying tie wires having loops at each end to energized line wires held on insulators, comprising in combination, an insulated supporting pole adapted to be held at the lower end thereof, a frame at the top end thereof, an idler sprocket journalled on a transverse shaft at the top of said frame; twisting mechanism in the lower portion of said frame composed of a hollow stationary shaft transversely attached at its inner end to said frame, extending parallel to said idler sprocket shaft, having a longitudinal slot opening downward and angularly slightly outward; a radially slotted sprocket mounted on a hollow slotted spindle journalled on said stationary shaft having a longitudinal slot adapted to register with said slot in said stationary shaft so that a line wire may be introduced into said hollow shaft through said slots when in register; and a tie wire engaging hook attached to said spindle adjacent the outer end thereof opposite the slot therein, having projecting horns spaced from the surface thereof and extending arcuately partially around said spindle adapted to engage the end loops of a tie wire when rotated in either direction; a chain running over said idler sprocket and with its outside engaging the teeth of the inner portion of said slotted sprocket and attached at its lower ends to the upper ends of an insulating rope looped over a pulley journalled on a transverse shaft near the lower end of said pole.

3. A hot stick for applying tie wires having loops at each end to energized line wires held on insulators, comprising in combination, an insulated supporting pole adapted to be held at the lower end thereof, a frame at the top end thereof, an idler sprocket journalled on a transverse shaft at the top of said frame; twisting mechanism in the lower portion of said frame composed of a hollow stationary shaft transversely attached at its inner end to said frame extending parallel to said idler sprocket shaft, having a longitudinal slot opening downward and angularly slightly outward; a radially slotted sprocket mounted on a hollow slotted spindle journalled on said stationary shaft having a longitudinal slot adapted to register with said slot in said stationary shaft so that a line wire may be introduced into said hollow shaft through said slots when in register; and a tie wire engaging hook attached to said spindle adjacent the outer end thereof, opposite the slot therein, having projecting horns spaced from the surface thereof and extending arcuately partially around said spindle adapted to engage the end loops of a tie wire when rotated in either direction; a chain running over said idler sprocket and with its outside engaging the teeth of the inner portion of said slotted sprocket and attached at its lower ends to the upper ends of an insulating rope looped over a pulley journalled on a transverse shaft near the lower end of said pole; means for maintaining a tension on said rope and chain including a pulley block housing supporting said rope pulley attached by a screw to a bracket on said pole, and having an adjustable thumb nut thereon below said bracket; and means for stopping the turning movement of said twisting sprocket at a position with the slots in said sprocket and spindle in register with the slot in said shaft, including a clevis on said chain and a stop bracket on said frame adapted to engage said clevis.

ELLIS D. CURREY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 560,734 Miller May 26, 1896 594,649 Plummer Nov. 30, 1897 636,840 Plummer Nov. 14, 1899 1,014,498 Lung Jan. 9, 1912 1,058,565 Dubbels Apr. 8, 1913 1,249,898 Bush Dec. 11, 1917 1,491,684 Duden Apr. 22, 1924 2,556,663 Smalley June 12, 1951 

